Once More
by kanji tatsumi
Summary: Dipper makes a deal with Bill to save Pacifica's life, in return everyone forgets about their relationship, including Pacifica. Dipper tries to win back the love of his life all over again, preferably in the least creepy way possible. Dipper/Pacifica
1. one

The first thing he remembers is passing out.

The second thing he remembers is Pacifica.

He particularly remembers the baton wedged between her heart. Particularly remembers the blood covering her new outfit, one she was excited about showing him just earlier that day. Particularly remembers the face she made when she saw him, wide eyed, almost in disbelief. They were both wondering the same thing in that moment; _did that really just happen?_

His eyes watered at the thought and quickly slipped his shoes on, deciding against changing out of his pajamas, when did he change into those again? He ignored his bed head and smell and grabbed the keys to the old truck he and Mabel shared during their times in Gravity Falls.

He ran downstairs, ignoring Mabel's worried questions, ignoring Stan and Ford's unmistakable arguing, and running straight for the door and then straight for his car. He reversed sloppily and gunned for the Northwest Manor.

He reached the manor quickly, running stop signs and going over the speed limit almost the entire ride. He was lucky the sheriffs of Gravity Falls were far too busy with their own relationship to bust him for speeding. He parked messily in front of the manor's gate. He panted and rang the bell by the gate, something that he did almost every day.

"Name and who you are here to see, please." He recognized the familiar voice of Maria, Pacifica's personal maid.

"Maria! I need to see Pacifica. It's-It's Dipper. Please." Dipper knew it was a lost cause. Everything that happened yesterday, there's no way Pacifica is ready for visitors or even survived for that matter-

"Ms. Northwest will be down in a moment Mr….ah, Dipper, was it?" Maria called back.

Dipper perked up. "S-She will? Thank you!" Dipper decided to ignore Maria's lack or remembrance on who he was. Well, she _is_ older right?

Dipper noticed Pacifica coming down the driveway and his heart stopped. She was okay! How was she okay? He decided it didn't matter for now and instead thanked whatever higher being there was for making her okay.

"Pacifica!" He smiled wide. "You're alright! I can't believe you're-!"

Pacifica stood on the other side of the gate and crossed her arms. "Do I _know_ you?"

"Pacifica? Did you hit your head? Or maybe some type of amnesia spell got cast on-?"

"Look, weirdo, I have enough going on without creeps like you coming to my door uninvited. Did you come here for something?"

"I-I-I wanted to make sure you were okay…"

Pacifica spun herself around and put her arms out. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine. You can go now." She rolled her eyes.

"But Pacifica-"

"That means leave. Like now." She spun on her heel and stomped up the hill.

"What the hell is going on…" Dipper whispered and suddenly felt very lightheaded. The last thing he felt was a crash to the ground outside the Northwest Manor.

"Pine Tree, what's up? How's it going?" Bill appeared in the darkness.

"Bill? What- where-?"

"I've created a space for us to talk, Pine Tree. I saw you were struggling out there and I have to say even _I_ felt bad." Bill laughed.

"What the hell is going on?" Dipper yelled. "She's acting like we have never even met!"

"Well, yeah. That's how you act to someone you have never met." Bill twisted his cane.

"I know you did something. Tell me, now." Dipper grit his teeth.

"I didn't do a thing except help you out." Bill replied. "That was the deal."

"Deal?"

"It would be easier to just show you." Bill sighed and waved his hand. A TV screen popped out of nowhere and began to play a familiar scene.

 _Dipper was clutching onto an obviously dead Pacifica, crying. "I'm so sorry…" He said. "Please don't go…"_

" _Pine Tree, looks like you could use a miracle." Bill appeared next to Dipper now. "Your girlfriend looks…how should I put it? Dead." Dipper swung his fist as the triangle, but Bill managed to warp away in time. "Take it easy! I'm here to help, after all."_

" _Why would you help me?" Dipper said, teeth gritting._

" _You know how I work, Pine Tree. It's a give…and a take."_

" _You want my life for hers? Do it." Dipper yelled. "I'll do anything!"_

" _Anything, you say?" Bill lit up. "Pine Tree, I like you. I don't necessarily want you dead…yet. But you are going to have to pay for blondie's life somehow."_

" _What do you want?"_

" _While I don't want you dead, seeing you suffer is a fun past time." Bill laughed._

" _Get to the point."_

" _I'll bring her back, good as new, but she might not be exactly as you remember. Or more so, exactly how_ _ **she**_ _remembers." Bill sat himself down. "I'll bring her back but she won't remember you. You will be a complete stranger, your relationship, and your memories together, gone! In fact, you will be the only remaining person around to remember those times."_

" _You aren't exactly gaining from this. This is unlike you." Dipper stated._

" _I told you, kid. Messing with you is all the gain I need." Bill sat back._

 _Dipper gripped onto Pacifica tighter. "I am the reason this happened maybe…it's better if she never met me…"_

" _Tick tock, kid. I'm powerful but the bringing back the dead process does get more risky the more we wait…"_

 _Dipper looked at Bill then at Pacifica. He shut his eyes and took Bill's hand. "Deal."_

The screen went black and Bill waved his hand and it was gone in an instant. "As you can tell, you willingly agreed to this just yesterday. Well, _**your**_ yesterday. _Her_ yesterday was filled with piano lessons, tutoring, and a dinner party. No room for life threatening monster hunting."

"She…won't remember me…" Dipper said mostly to himself.

"Duh." Bill sighed. "Great, well, now that you are despairingly aware of how utterly hopeless your situation is. My job is done for today. Take it as a lesson, whatever you love always ends up disappearing or dying or forgetting you ever even meant anything to them!"

Bill faded away and left Dipper in the complete darkness, going over what happened. He was keen on staying in the dark void forever until he heard a faint voice.

"Um, Dapper?" A voice said. "No, that isn't it…um…Dasher?"

Dipper groaned and opened his eyes to see Pacifica shaking him.

"Are you okay uh….?" Pacifica started.

"It's Dipper." He sat up. "Dipper Pines."

"Pines?" Pacifica perked up. "Are you related to Mabel Pines?"

Dipper felt all too odd introducing himself to the love of his teenage life. "I'm…her twin brother."

"Twin brother? How come I've never heard of you? She's practically my best friend…" Pacifica muttered, looking somewhat embarrassed.

 _So Mabel and Pacifica are still close. Well, that makes sense, I wasn't the reason they met or even became friends._ "I…don't know." Dipper lied.

"Did Mabel send you to make sure I was okay or something?" Pacifica questioned. Dipper knew it wouldn't be long before she questions kicked in. She never believed anything too easily.

"I-uh…" Dipper stuttered. "Yeah…she did. She was worried, you um, you had a bad time at some dinner party yesterday?" Dipper acted as if he wasn't aware of the horrid parties she had to attend and thanks to Bill's info about Pacifica's day yesterday, he had a perfect excuse. He noticed her puzzled look and knew what she was thinking. "She didn't come herself because she isn't feel well. And she lost her phone." He added in a stupid smile and hoped for pity.

Pacifica gave him a long stare once again as if analyzing him. Then, as if he decided that was the only plausible answer was his, she shrugged and sighed. "Then tell her I'm fine."

Dipper watched her face and body movements. "Are you sure you're fine?" He knew the answer; she was never fine after those dinners. She was barely ever fine as it is.

She huffed and flipped her head the other way. "I'm fine." He knew this look too, annoyed. As if it wasn't obvious. He wanted her to talk to him but…

"You're right. Sorry. I don't meant to…pry. Just…if you _**aren't**_ okay, I wouldn't hate listening to-"

"I said I'm fine." Pacifica stared him down now. "And you _**are**_ prying. And I _**don't**_ know you. I think it's best you tell Mabel my message now. I have enough to do as it is." Her angry tone turned into a mixture of sadness and annoyance.

Dipper finally picked himself off up the ground (no wonder it felt like she was buildings taller than him) and brushed his pants. "Right. I'll just….do that." He turned to walk away and turned his head once more. It was odd leaving her without a hug or a kiss. "I'll see you around."

She had already pulled out her phone now. "Yeah." She said half-heartedly.

All Dipper thought before he left was how much Bill must like to see him suffer.

 **a/n: help I started a new story and I love it but where does it go? no no im kidding I know where this is going…kinda. I'd been wanting to start a new longer story since** _ **Why Not?**_ **ended since I LOVED doing that but getting into writing is hard. This one is a lot less organized. I know where the story is going but instead of pre-made chapters like my previous story had this one is most likely going to be a 'the next one will be out when I feel like it' which is awful I know. Here's the first chapter tho! Review if you like it! I love those reviews yo. Also sorry for any mistakes. Gonna be honest here, I was too lazy to edit this. I think I'm mostly fine but idk. May be looking for some beta readers on this one too….**


	2. two

**a/n: im so sorry this was so late! I have not forgotten about this story! I've been very busy with con season on me, college decisions, work, prom stuff, and regular school (really bad day today ugh). But! I still want to continue this story and try to update reasonably. Thank you for sticking by the story and reading! It really means a lot to me!**

The next morning came like the previous. A question of whether Dipper was living in his dim reality or if it was all just a bad dream.

Pacifica's missing contact on his phone, however, answered his question.

He quickly typed it back into his phone. He memorized the number anyway.

He sat up and turned his head to Mabel's bed, which was now empty. Typical. He couldn't even remember the last time he woke up before she did.

He stepped downstairs slowly and sleepily.

"Dipper!" Mabel greeted from the kitchen. She was sitting at the table with her latest romance novel and a cup of coffee next to her. "Are you okay? You didn't seem to be in a very good mood the other day…"

Dipper sighed and sat across from his best friend and twin. "Yeah. I'm not in a very good mood today either."

"Wanna talk about it?" Mabel smiled. She had already put her book down on the chair next to her and propped her head up with her hand. Dipper knew her all too well, she was ready to give some of her good old Mabel advice.

However, as much as Dipper needed some Mabel pep talks right now, he knew it would overly complicate things. And make him look completely insane. Maybe he would tell her…eventually. "Just…trouble falling asleep. The usual." Not _technically_ a lie, he didn't fall asleep until the he saw the sun rise.

"I told you, stay off electronics before bed. And drink tea!" Mabel sighed. "What's the agenda for today?"

Dipper hadn't really thought about it considering yesterday turned his life upside down. After doing some research yesterday, he found the real date and year hadn't changed, it was still July 3rd, 2017, just without Pacifica. His work schedule stayed the same, he still was on his way to the same college from before, still was high school captain of his chess team (maybe something he shouldn't have been so proud of), and still pretty much the same guy. But that was just it, _he_ was the same because he was the one that remembered everything. He remembered the lessons Pacifica taught him, the changes and effects she made on him, he stayed the same as before because he remembered her.

She was the other story.

After doing more digging, Dipper found Pacifica to be very…different. She reminded him of her back in their earlier days of high school. She wasn't completely over herself yet. Dipper was flattered yet upset at the impact he had on her. Had he really changed her that much? True, she was known to do good deeds sometimes, she still was class president and still planned every dance and social event the school planned (alongside her VP, Mabel). But she had a coldness to her, still on the defense. Dipper smiled painfully at that thought. It was nostalgic, the entire thing was, but seeing her on her guard and cold, really reminded him of her younger self. He not only felt sad she didn't remember him, but that she didn't remember all the progress she made due to knowing him. She became more open to people outside her social circle, found a best friend in Mabel, and stood up to her parents much more often.

That was only another thing that made him upset. Her parents. All that progress was wiped away with one swish of a magical hand. One of her crowning achievements, ripped away from her. Thanks to him.

"Dipper, are you okay? You look like you are about to cry…" Mabel muttered, staring at her brother intensely.

"Oh…" Dipper laughed. "Sorry, no I'm just still tired." He quickly remembered Mabel left their conversion on a question. "Oh, the agenda for today…" He rubbed his neck. "I'm probably going to stay here and do some research tonight."

"Ugh, I knew you would forget." Mabel rolled her eyes. "Pacifica is throwing a party tonight, you know Pacifica right? I was her VP back at school? Well, our whole class is going, sorta like a 'goodbye-going-off-to-college' party type thing. And you told me you would come."

"Party?" Dipper questioned. "I don't remember saying that."

"Well, too late! You have been too much of a shut-in since graduation. It'll be fun, Pacifica's house is huge!"

"Well, I mean wasn't prom our last class hurrah?" Dipper drew a blank at the thought, _oh my God, who did I go to prom with?_

"We both know how that worked out for you…" Mabel laughed. _No, really how did that work out for me?_? "Stop questioning it and enjoy yourself. Please, just say you'll go."

Dipper wasn't usually the type for parties but…

"Pacifica Northwest's house, hm?"

Mabel nodded. "The one and only."

"Fine."

Dipper found out later, this version of himself, the one that never dated Pacifica, wasn't keen on going to parties. From the way Mabel put it, it was a big deal he was attending. Normally, _he_ wasn't eager on parties either, but this was more a mission than a social event. He couldn't help himself, he did still love Pacifica and even the chance of seeing her made him excited.

Mabel was decked out in her party clothes, a sparkly cocktail dress with white pumps. She took caution in straightening her normally curly locks. "Are you ready to rock, brother?" She smiled, linking arms with him, partly because she wanted to and mostly because she didn't want to fall up the Northwest Manor's steep steps (again).

"I just hope it's not too-" Dipper started but was interrupted by Frank Dawson, their former quarterback, running past Dipper and Mabel in his birthday suit. "Crazy." Dipper sighed. "I'm, uh, guessing Mr. and Mrs. Northwest aren't home."

"Business trip." Mabel winked. "We are completely, totally able to be crazy adult-free teenagers."

"Don't do anything stupid." He opened the front door, letting Mabel step in first.

She nodded as a thank you. "I won't if you won't be a complete buzz kill."

" _I'm_ not a buzz kill." Dipper defended. Was he? He didn't really know anymore.

"Well, I don't think you are. But other people…" Mabel trailed off.

How just serious was this Dipper? He admit, it was interesting at first to see how people were different in this reality but it was draining him of his own personality. Would he really have been so cynical without Pacifica? "I get it. I won't be a buzz kill."

Mabel looked at him apologetically, sensing he was somewhat hurt by her words but before she could actually apologize, some girls Dipper had never seen before came up and swooped her on the dance floor to jam out to a radio hit. Dipper decided to forgive her, as he usually did, she never means harm, in any reality it seems.

He also decided on starting his own mission of the night and looked for the girl that hadn't left his mind for the past few days. The Northwest Manor didn't change at all, not that he expected it to; still huge, still luminous, still excessively decorated. He figured now, it would be much more of a challenge to find Pacifica with all the guests that showed up. He was pretty sure half the kids here didn't ever attend Gravity Falls High.

Circling the ballroom for fifth time made Dipper rethink his idea. Had she not shown up to her own party? He knew she wasn't fond of her parents' parties, in fact he knew just where her hiding spot-

 _Oh._

Dipper made his way through the hallway of the Northwest mansion. He smiled to himself and remembered his adventure with Pacifica, running down this hall from a ghost. He felt a familiar nervousness, one he felt all that time ago, walking back to the place where it all started, the room where he finally saw her and she saw him.

He pulled the painting back to reveal said room and instantly felt another rush of nostalgia. He remembered her crying to him, her showing her feelings for the first time to him, remembered her bravery, how she saved the day, and how oddly _proud_ he felt.

"Hello?" He tried. He started regretting this choice, in fact she was probably just out somewhere else at the party-

"Who's there?" A voice called back. Pacifica. He took a breath and turned the corner at a painting. She sat there, innocently looking around said corner, head tilted slightly, drinking a soda. "Mabel's brother?"

His heart sank. He would have to get used to just being 'Mabel's brother.' "Uh, yeah. Hey, Pacifica."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped. "Private area, creep."

Dipper blushed profusely. Why did he feel twelve all over again? "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm, uh, exploring…"

"You aren't helping yourself right now." She stated, she didn't take her eyes off him. Every shake he made, she caught.

"It's sorta my thing. I uh, explore places. Sorry, I shouldn't have. This is uh, your house after all."

"Exploring? What did you intend to find?" Pacifica felt comfortable enough to take a sip of her soda.

"I…don't really know. That's…the fun part." He said honestly. Most of his days consisted of exploring things in hope of discovering something new. "Why are you here? Don't you want to be out in your party?"

"I can only take so much at once. Someone invited a whole bunch of people from across towns. I don't know most the people here to be honest." She said, with a hint of sadness and annoyance in her voice. "But, it's weird I never heard of you."

"I haven't really been….all here the past few years." He responded. "I certainly know you, though."

"All good things?" She smirked, as if knowing the answer was 'no.'

"Mabel loves you." Dipper said.

"She loves everyone."

"Not everyone." Dipper decided to take a seat next to her, which she let him. "Really, the way she talks about you, you seem like a great person, Pacifica. And the…few times we have talked, I can tell she's right."

"How can you be so sure? As you said, we have only spoken _twice._ " She rolled her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, another guy trying to butter her up because she's pretty.

"You're right." She didn't expect that. "I'm going on my gut. I hope I'm right." He smiled.

She huffed causing her bangs to fly. "You are about as weird as your sister."

"You don't even know the half of it."

A few minutes later, the two left the room together, Pacifica saying she got bored and Dipper only being at the party for her anyway. "Do you always follow your sister's friends around?"

"Only the ones I like." Dipper found himself saying. Suddenly screams were heard from the main room where all of the party guests were. "What the hell…?"

"Not again…" He heard Pacifica whisper as she rushed past him and into towards the screaming teenagers.

"Pacifica, wait!" He dashed after her. He couldn't have her jumping into dangerous situations at any time especially when all the training they did together was lost to her.

He sprinted into the room. "Pacifica!" He turned to the center of the room and saw the familiar gnomes of the forest in their huge form. What was going on here? He looked to the side and saw Mabel guiding everyone out of the front door and then running out herself. Were they not here for her? Pacifica was nowhere to be found but he could swear he saw her come this way.

Dipper didn't need to grab his journal for this one, he knew how to fight off these pests. He hid behind a pillar and watched them carefully.

"I thought I told you guys to leave me the hell alone!" Pacifica appeared at the top of the steps with an axe in hand. Dipper could recognize it from here; the same one that was lodged in the lumberjack's skull was glowing in her hand.

"Pacifica!" Jeff cried. "There you are. Well, yes, we know you said no, _however,"_ Jeff instructed the giant gnome monster to smash it's fist next to Pacifica, causing her to quickly jump to her left. "We think you should reconsider."

Dipper sprung to his feet and out of hiding. "Like hell I'll let you take my…. _sister's_ friend as your bride!"

" _You again?"_

"Dipper?" Pacifica said.

"Hey Paz, got a leaf blower handy?" He smirked, eyeing the gnomes.

"Ugh, alright kid, _fine_. We're going! Just keep that thing out of this." Jeff backed down.

"You stay away from her and Mabel, got it?"

"Okay, got it. Geez." Jeff sighed and commanded the gnomes to revert to their normal selves. Dipper glared at them. "I said we're going, kid." He reassured and led the group out the front door.

Dipper made sure they all were out the door and slammed it shut. "Pacifica." He remembered and turned around to find her right behind him and staring intensely into his eyes. "W-what?"

"Who are you?" She lifted her axe to him.

"B-be careful with that!" He put his hands up. "I told you who I am!"

"You got them to leave within seconds. Leaf blower?" She glared.

"I've…dealt with them before. Mabel was the subject a few years back. She found out leaf blowers are their weakness…as weird as it sounds, it's true." He eyed the axe then her again. "Promise."

She lowered the axe and sighed. "Well, thank you I guess. They were really a pain in the ass." She turned around and looked at the wrecked room.

"This wasn't the first encounter?" Dipper was surprised, the gnomes never had any interest in Pacifica in his time.

"More like the tenth. They wanted me to be their queen or whatever. I managed to find some stuff to keep them away for a while so I hope your leaf blower thing _**is**_ legit."

"What kind of stuff?" He pressed on.

"…Wards and stuff. They don't like a certain type of flower so I had a bunch planted in front of the house, there are red crystals at each corner of the land, just…stuff like that." She muttered. "I just wanted them to go away."

"Have you had this sort of problem before? I mean, have other beings approached you?" Dipper was stunned; he assumed Pacifica's knowledge of the paranormal strictly came from hanging around him so often.

"Look, I only bug them when they bug me. If that means some research, then it means research. No one messed with me, human or…other." She flipped her hair over one shoulder. "This is a mess. Just what the hell am I going to say to everyone?" She muttered to herself.

Dipper noticed the puzzled and somewhat worried look on her face. This Pacifica still cared about what her peers thought of her. This Pacifica held that to a high standard just as she did before. "Well…" Dipper started. "You could blame me."

"What?"

"I'm…sorta known for having this stuff be around me. You could say I brought it here." He rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't help but feel so young again when she looked at him like that.

"Why would you take the fall for that? You know everyone is going to think you're a huge weirdo."

Dipper smiled and laughed a little. "Pssh, everyone already thinks that. Might as well embrace it." Dipper made a mental note how he would have acted if this had been a few years ago, freshman year Dipper would care heavily what the drunk teens at this party thought about him, but maybe Pacifica and him grew out of that together.

"How come I've never heard of you before?" She questioned again. "And how come you are being so nice to me?"

"I blend in." He remarked again. "Because, Pacifica, I can tell this means a lot to you and it doesn't matter all that much to me, so I'll take the fall."

She studied him as if she had a test on him in five minutes. "Thank you." She said. It came out confused and quiet. "I need to get this mess cleaned up."

Dipper took the hint and nodded. "Right, I'll see you later."

"You will?" Pacifica cocked an eyebrow playfully. Dipper's heart skipped a beat at the flirtatious tone in her voice.

"I really hope so." He said softly enough for her to hear and took off outside the Manor's front door.


	3. three

**a/n: update yay! I'm so sorry this update took so long but I hoe everyone is still interested in the story because I promise I still am! I'm still working on getting my footing with this story but I very much enjoy writing it! I don't know exactly how fast this story will go but in typical me fashion it probably won't go past at most 15 chapters and probably not even that many.**

 **I'd also like to say sorry for this chapter as the readers that are here purely for dipper/pacifica cuteness, this chapter focuses more heavily on the plot and introducing Gideon as a secondary character which is really fun for me because I like him a lot and never know how to put him in my stories! But he has found a good place here and will most likely be more of the comedy in the story (along with maybe one other character I have yet to talk about…) and fair warning to those here for dipper/pacifica, this story is ALSO more a Dipper story considering he needs to adjust to a whole new place and possibly patch up some other relationships besides Pacifica.**

 **Third apology for talking so much in the a/n. anyway! Enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you enjoyed! Thank you!**

* * *

The Mystery Shack stayed quiet this summer Sunday morning. It seemed to Dipper no one was awake yet, something he was somewhat happy about.

He poured himself some of Stan's favorite generic cereal and went through his thoughts, something he had been doing a lot lately. This world was so different from his. Mabel tells him inside jokes he has to pretend to understand, Stan barely says a word to him, and Pacifica had no idea who he is. Well, she has some idea now but considering all he shared before with these people, they hardly know him. He soon realized he didn't just lose Pacifica, but lost connections with well… _everyone_.

He flipped the TV on and started watching Ducktective (luckily his never dating Pacifica didn't interfere with the show's episodes) and munched on his cereal. He felt discouraged and frankly, depressed. This Dipper, the one who lived in this timeline, seemed too serious and so alien to him. Mabel had said more than a few times that he was acting strange, that he usually didn't talk this much or take his face out of his book. However, she seemed happy he was more willing to go along with her antics. Did that Dipper not know Mabel needed him to be silly sometimes?

"Dipper!" A voice shouted from the doorway.

Dipper nearly fell out of his chair as his Great Uncle Ford appeared. "Grunkle Ford? Where have you _been_?" The teen nearly assumed Ford moved out as he hadn't seen him once this entire time.

"'Grunkle?'" Ford laughed. "Why, you haven't called me that in a while…" He slightly smiled to himself. "I was downstairs working on our project. The one you didn't show up to help with last night."

Dipper blinked twice. "Right…our project. I'm sorry I was-"

"At a party with your sister. You know Friday nights we work on the project." Ford sighed.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Dipper, seeing as this is the first time you've ever done anything to hurt the project, I'll let it go. But, if you slack off like this at Stanford, they won't go easy on you."

"S-Stanford?" Dipper stuttered. This Dipper was going to _Stanford_?! "R-Right. You're right. Stanford…" He whispered and grinned. He would have never been able to get in to Stanford!

"Why are you smiling so big?" Ford narrowed his eyes.

"Why shouldn't I be smiling? I'm a Stanford University student!" He jumped up and spilled his cereal, laughing happily. "Grunkle Ford, this is…this is…"

"Weird?" Ford cocked an eyebrow.

"Amazing!" He hugged him tightly.

"Come on Dipper, you know the rules about too much hugging." He wiggled out of his grip.

"Grunkle Ford, don't pretend you don't love Mabel's famous hugs." He grinned.

"Mabel?" Ford questioned. "Why would she be hugging me? You know we hardly speak."

"What?" Dipper's face fell.

"Well, to be frank, Dipper, it's always been you and me and her and Stanley. Mabel doesn't seem to be interested in me."

"That's ridiculous, you guys are family!"

"I can say the same for you and Stanley." Ford sighed. "I'd rather not talk about this. I have some work to do." He stated and walked off with his hands behind his back, coat swaying behind him.

Dipper silently stepped down the street of Downtown Gravity Falls. Even in this timelines, not much to see. However, he didn't mind as he was mostly walking to clear his head. Adjusting here was seemingly impossible, just when he thinks it's starting to feel like home again, something or someone reminds him that this place is different. Yes, he got into Stanford University, his dream school, but Stan and him didn't get along and neither did Ford and Mabel. His once close-knit family was divided onto two teams, and he didn't feel at home on either side.

"Dipper Pines." A voice suddenly said, a voice he would know in any timeline.

"Gideon." He sighed. True, the kid had been much less of a pain in his old timeline, more an annoying kid that hung around every so often, but who knows? Maybe this Gideon was still an evil, cruel, heart-wrenching-

"Or at least, you look like him."

Dipper stopped in his tracks. _What did he just say?_

"I'm not exactly sure what you are, but you aren't any Dipper Pines I know."

Dipper spun around and faced Gideon. The now-sophomore was still as short as he was in the previous timelines. His hair, still it's famous white, however it seemed toned down a bit, as if he needed to re-dye it soon. He was in khakis and a blazer, not summer weather but Dipper assumed every version of Gideon dressed as he usually would. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Gideon gave a chuckle and stepped closer to Dipper. "Your eyes are telling me a terrible story. I see a lot of heartache, pain, suffering…"

"You aren't physic, Gideon."

"Hm. Prove it."

Dipper stepped dangerous close to the grinning boy. "I _did_ prove it about five years ago."

"You and I both know deals with demons can change a whole lot." He smirked. "Let's talk somewhere private."

"The diner isn't exactly 'private', Gideon." Dipper rolled his eyes as he looked over the familiar menu.

"Ugh, am I supposed to talk you to some far corner in the woods? My outfit would be ruined." He huffed, suddenly losing his new 'edgy' personality. "I want answers."

"Don't we all." Dipper sighed. "So, you made a deal with Bill for real physic powers, I assume?"

"Absolutely."

"What's the deal? What are you doing for him?"

"It's a secret. Really, it's a part of the contract." Gideon assured. "Not that I would tell you anyway, Pines."

Dipper let out a huge sigh. "This is a waste of my time then."

"Don't get up." Dipper suddenly found himself glued to his seat, unable to move an inch. He glared at Gideon. "Another perk." He grinned. "I can't exactly read you…" He began. "Like I said, you aren't Dipper Pines but now the question is, who are you?"

Dipper glared at him for a few seconds before scoffing. "I _am_ Dipper Pines. Different timeline, same person."

Gideon released his grasp on Dipper. "Why are you here? You are from a bad timeline?"

"Yeah…" Dipper said quietly, remembering Pacifca's dead body all too well. "I made a deal to come here to save someone."

"Mabel?"

Dipper shook his head. "…Pacifica Northwest."

Gideon blinked a few times and began giggling then full-out laughing loudly. "P-Pacifica Northwest!?" He laughed some more. "Why would y-you make a deal with..B-Bill for that brat?"

Dipper crossed his arms. "It's not funny. We were together in my timeline, and she's not a brat!"

Gideon chuckled some more. "Wow, this Dipper Pines is a liar too!"

"I'm not a liar!" Dipper mentally slapped himself; he always seemed to act like a child when it came to Gideon. "It's the truth."

"Pacifica Northwest, _no_ version of her, would ever even _consider_ -"

"Going out with me? Well, we were together. Happily and willingly, might I add. Just ask your good friend Bill."

"I'd hardly call us good friends." Gideon rolled his eyes. "Fine, assuming I do believe you, what exactly is your plan here? This Pacifica will never take you back."

Dipper took a moment to think. "It's not about getting her back, she's alive, that's good enough. If by chance, I can get her back, it's a good bonus." Dipper took a sip of the forgotten glass of water that Lazy Susa left on the table. "So, you can't exactly read me?" He air-quoted. "Those powers only work sometimes?"

Gideon sighed and averted his gaze. "They work the best on my audience. I could tell something about you was odd, that's for sure, but pin-pointing the exact thing was what was troubling. Passing thoughts are the easiest to read. Secrets can be tough to crack."

"Audience? Tent of Telepathy is back?!" Dipper asked, very confused. "How the hell do people even trust you again after your criminal record, dude?" Dipper smirked at the memory of Gideon being escorted into a police car.

Gideon crossed his arms and glared at Dipper. "I can read what you're thinking now. And even if I couldn't it's all over your face. So quit it." He kept his close glare. "The people of this town are idiots, if you haven't noticed. They believe the Mystery Shack is the real thing, so why wouldn't they believe a _real_ physic like me?"

"Because you're a criminal." Dipper reminded him.

"Not anymore!" Gideon slammed a fist on the table, causing other customers to look over and stare. He cleared his throat. "I'm rehabilitated. Everyone loves a villain gone good."

"But you aren't-"

"Dipper Pines, the town's nerdy shut-in, yep, _everyone_ will believe you."

"What's with this shut-in stuff anyways? I was never like-"

" _You_ aren't. He _was_. You're him now, so that means you are. Makes sense, ivy league?" Gideon smirked. "Really, it's quite cruel. I almost feel sorry for you."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I don't need your pity anyways. I need information, Gideon." Dipper folded his hands on the table. He had been waiting for someone who knew his situation, he was half hoping Ford would be able to see, but alas, his luck was seemingly never good.

Gideon laughed again. "I gain absolutely nothing from tellin' you anything. Make me a deal."

It was Dipper's turn to smirk. "This Dipper" He muttered, referring to himself. "Learned the hard way about not recording suspicious conversations with shady characters." He said slowly raising a tape recorder and grinning wildly, playing back. _"The people of this town are idiots, if you haven't noticed."_ Gideon's voice replied.

"Ohhh…" Gideon sang, smiles a little himself, almost proudly. "You are going to be a problem."

"Damn right." He set the recorder back in his jacket. "Preston Northwest said some choice words to me quite a few times; I still regret ever getting a recording of that guy." He turned back to Gideon. "What do you know about my family? As in, relationship wise. Something weird is going on. Nobody gets along like they did."

"Well, it's no secret Ford prefers his precious apprentice over his niece." Gideon muttered. "Stan and Mabel stick together due to you and Ford being so distant. Or so I hear or rather see." He muttered.

Dipper blinked, realizing his words. "You read Mabel's mind?"

"L-look, it's uncontrollable sometimes. It might have to do with her meaning something to m-me in the past. I'm not sure." He stuttered and blushed.

"Great." Dipper huffed. "So…Mabel and I…"

"Well, she doesn't hate you." Gideon reassured. "It's just…she's wondering what happened."

"Yeah…me too…" Dipper muttered. "Ford mentioned some type of project. Know anything?"

"Ford's mind is harder. Luckily, it was in the news and got you your fancy scholarship. You guys are remaking that portal."

"Ford's portal? The highly dangerous portal?!" Dipper yelled, causing more customers to look over before he sat back down. "How can that happen?"

"Look, I don't know what's going on in his mind. He's trying to prove the multi-universe theory with the portal. And so are you apparently."

"That's insane. He knows that place is dangerous…"

" _He's_ insane. He barely leaves that basement at all. The only time I even saw him since…I don't even know when, was when the news interviewed you two."

Dipper's ears perked up. "Do you have the segment?"

* * *

"What are you doing?! Take your shoes off, you animal." Gideon motioned at Dipper's feet. "Do you enter your own home like this, Pines?"

Dipper sighed and kicked his shoes off. "Just get the segment up, Gideon."

Gideon scoffed and flicked on is TV and went to his DVR. "Dad likes to save the news broadcasts. I'd say luck is on your side." He hit play and the TV took a moment to began playing.

"I'm Shandra Jimenez reporting live outside the Mystery Shack, just moments before Stanford Pines and his great nephew Dipper Pines appear outside to be interviewed. The Uncle-Nephew duo have been recognized by the U.S. government recently for their work involving alternate dimensions and have gained funding by the government to continue their promising research." Shandra stated. "The two have been said to-there they are!" She cut herself off and ran towards the front porch of the Mystery Shack along with dozens of other reporters. Ford and Dipper stood on the porch, looking professional and not bothered by the flashing lights.

The reporters began shouting questions at the two before Ford pointed at one and waited for the crowd to calm down. "Mr. Pines, you have said before you have entered an alternate dimension, is this true?"

Ford cleared his throat. "Yes, I spent many years away in an alternate dimension. Although my mode of transportation was at first damaged completely, my nephew and I, with the government's support, are repairing the broken portal and hoping to prove the multi-universe theory to the world." Ford concluded and picked out another reporter.

"A question for Dipper Pines, you have recently been given a full ride to Stanford University, do you plan on accepting the invitation to attend school there? If so, how will you further work on this project?"

"Although I have been offered to attend many Ivy League schools, I plan on accepting the admission into Stanford University. The school has noted my research is important and has agreed to help further the research in any way they can."

Dipper eyed himself on the screen. The boy on the screen looked dead tired and tremendously bored. Dipper was shocked, he would be covering his eyes and shuddering like an idiot, and yet this boy kept his cool. He even sensed a bit of boasting in him. "Who the hell is that…" He muttered to himself, keeping his eyes locked on the screen. "That isn't me. That isn't who I am." He stated before Gideon got a chance to speak. "This is all too…"

"Weird." Gideon finished, staring at Dipper himself now. "You…are really different. However, it seems to be for the best. You do seem more enjoyable than this asshole."

"Hey! I mean…thanks?" Dipper sighed. "I don't know." He stood up. "In any case, thank you Gideon, you're the only one that could give me information and you did."

"You blackmailed me." Gideon deadpanned.

"But I'm apparently 'more enjoyable' than your Dipper." He grinned. "Just because I played dirty doesn't mean you don't deserve thanks." He tossed him the tape from the recorder. "I'll see you later."

Gideon caught the tape just in time and stared at it. He only looked up when he heard his front door shut and found himself alone in his home.

* * *

Dipper was in town again, purposefully avoiding the Shack in fear of Ford asking him too more questions and finding out too much. He wasn't opposed to telling Ford, however, it was too early for him to even think properly himself, and one person finding out his secret today was enough. He sat at a local coffee shop, staring into his coffee.

"I'm sorry, we're closing now." Dipper heard a voice say to him. He looked up and saw a server putting on an upset face.

"Right. Sorry about that." Dipper nodded, picked up his belongings and left the shop. He couldn't believe how dark it had got. He looked up at the stars, which always looked beautiful in the Gravity Falls sky. He smiled warmly at the familiarity and the felt his eyes begin to prick with tears.

"Do you always stare off into space like that?" A voice called out to him, making him jump slightly. Pacifica wore a small smile, which only grew when she noticed the scare he got.

He sniffed and quickly wiped his eyes, smiled back. "Bad habit. Do you always take late night strolls?" He, however, knew the answer. Pacifica was a night owl, not as much as he was, but one to prefer the stars to the clouds.

"On nights like this." It was her turn to admire the stars. "The thing I'll miss most about this town is the sky. This clarity, it's rare to find nowadays."

He thought to himself about what he would miss most about this town and found himself looking right next to him at her. "It's beautiful."

Pacifica broke her gaze on the stars and met his. She looked slightly uncomfortable to find him looking at her intensely but only faltered for a moment. "Dipper…" She moved a piece of her from her face, she opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. "I heard you are going to Stanford. Congratulations. I can't believe I didn't know."

Dipper felt as if that wasn't what she originally meant to say. "Oh…thank you." He replied. "How…did you find out?"

"This afternoon, Gideon Gleeful called and told me during a conversation we had. He actually had a lot of good things to say about you." Pacifica remarked. "I've been friends with him since his freshman year, he's really an…odd person but…there's something about him. He's quite a showman."

"I agree." Dipper chuckled. "So, you really believe he's psychic?"

Pacifica waved her hand in the air. "I'm insulted you think I do. He's got something up his sleeve but a genuine psychic? I doubt it."

Dipper smiled warmly at the girl. "I suppose you're right. It does seem far-fetched, but in this town…"

"Anything's possible." She finished.

"Anything?" He replied and smiled that same smile at her once more.

Her cheeks turned pink and she looked down. "You know," She said softly. "The more you stare at me like that, the more convinced I am you're in love with me." She gave a small grin.

Dipper laughed a little and purposefully smiled at her again. "Anything's possible."


End file.
